Refrigerant plate



y 8 9 H. A. GOLDBERG 2,602,649

REFRIGERANT PLATE Filed Dec. 4, 1946 WNW- .7293 f Patented July 8, 1952 Standard Refrigeration Company, Inc.,

Chi-

" i 'cago, Ill., acorporation of Illinois .4, 1946, Serial .NO. 713,875

Application December This invention relates; in general; to heat ex changers, but more specifically;;.to ;refrigerant plates, which are, generally known; as flow temperature or evaporator plates, particularlyadapted, though notnecessarily limited in, use; for refrigeration purposes, to, increase; the conductivity; and convection surface area, andqualities of the exchanger. ,Oneyof theobjectsof; the invention is to provide ani nproved lowtemperature evaporator plate. of this ycharacten;

which will, be simple and durable in construc: tion, cheap to manufacture, ,.and; effective and efiicient in operation;

Evaporator. or flash plates of: this character have heretofore been constructed in the ,form of plates of any desired thicknesa; shaped to form a housing or hollow plate, between which plates orthe walls-of the housing arefrigerating fluid flows; w

.The usuafmethodxof assembhngand securing the parts of such a plate togetheris quite expensive and time consuming, and eventually the parts become loose, with the result that the effectiveness of the plateisflimpaired. To overcome these difliculties and objections, and to provide an improved structure of'v plate, and improved means for securing the 'parts in assembled relation, is another objectof this invention.

A further object is to provide an improved method of'manufacturing a. refrigerant plate or heat exchanger of thischaracter. 1 H

To the attainmenttof these ends, and theiaccomplishment ofother new and useful objects as will appear, the invention consists in the features of novelty in substantially the construction, combination and arrangement ofithe. several parts; and in.substantially;the method Land steps in the method. of producing the; same, hereinafter more. fully described: and 'claimed, and shown in the accompanying drawing illustrating this invention, in which drawing Fig. 1 is a plan view of one face plate.

Fig. 2 is a plan view from the opposite face of the plate. I

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the blank for the plate shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a plan view shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken on line 5-5, Fig. 2, before the plates are welded together.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing the plates welded together.

Fig. '7 is a sectional view on line 1-1, Fig. 2.

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the completed plate, showing one end thereof.

of the blank for the plate 1 Claims. ,(01. 2.57 255) Fig. 9 is detail horizontal sectional viewia s taken on line 99,Fig.6. In the drawing, the exchanger consists essentially of twoplates l5, l8, portions of which are spaced from each other, and may be of any desired size and configuration, and constructed of anysuitable material which possesses'the de-' sired qualifications, andwhich is non-corrosive. The .plate I5 is formed from a flatblanl: and, in ,the present exemplification of thefinven'tion, is oblong, and the corners are cut away, as at [1,; so as to facilitate folding'of the edges, in a manner to be set forth. Theplat'eflfiis somewhat larger than thelplate. I5, and thesides and ends thereof are'bent at substantially right angles to the body portion, as at It, to form spacing walls for-the platesfand; a closure for: the space therebetween. The edges .of the walls I8 are bent at substantially right angles to the walls, as at 19, and'terminate short of the 'peripheral edges of the plate l5, so that when the plates are, assembled, that is, when the flanged edges 19- of the plate l6 abut-or rest against the plate l5 th'e edgesofthe plate l5 beyond'the edges of the portion IQ, of the" plate l6, are bent back upon the portion I9, as at l9", to bind and secure the, two plates firmly together around their edges. If desired, and as a further means for fasteningthe edges or these plates together,

they may bespot welded, or fastened in any other desired or suitable manner.

Between. the plates, .apipe 20 is disposed, which may be of any suitable, configuration, for eigamplefcoil ed, serpentinapr U-shaped both of;the ends.of-thev pipe extending through an end wall" 2|, toprovide'a means'wh'ereby a supply andan exhaust for the coolant 'fiuidjmay be readily.attached,-v in any suitable manner. To permit thefends ofthe pipe 20 'to pro'je'ct from between theplate's, one of the end walls 2| of the plate I6 may be provided with apertures or openings 22. The plate I6 is also, preferably, cut away at its corners, as at 23, to facilitate bending or shaping of the plate.

The normal distance between the portions of the plates 15 and I6 that form a chamber or space 24, within which the pipes 20 are located, is such that the pipes engage or rest against both plates. Before the plates l5 and I5 are assembled, a series of depressions or upstruck portions 25 are formed in the plate iii, in any suitable manner, and this is accomplished by upsetting or striking up a portion of the plate within the confines of, and spaced from the edges of the plate. These depressions, any number of which may be provided, are of a depth slightly less than the outside diameter of the pipes, so that when the plates are assembled, with the pipes 20 therebetween, the ends of the depressions or struck-out portions will terminate short of the plate l5, to provide a slight space 26, while the body portions of both plates rest against the pipes. This space is provided so that when the ends of the depressed portions 25 are secured to the plate [5, as at 21, which may be done by resistance welding, or by any other suitable fastening means, the plates will be drawn together, and tightly against the pipes 20, thereby insuring a tight binding of the parts, and a rigid contact of the plates with the pipes. Furthermore, the pipes will be rigidly held against displacement with respect to the plates.

These depressed or upset portions 25 may be provided at any place with respect to the area Q of the plate, but are preferably arranged so that they will'project between the bends or adjacent portions of the pipes.

With this improved construction, it will be manifest that there will be produced a heat exchanger or refrigerant plate in which the conductivity and convection qualities are greatly increased, and a plate that will be of a compact and rigid construction.

While the preferred form of the invention has been herein shown and described, and the preferred method of producing the invention has also been described, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in the details of construction, and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, and also in the method and the steps in the method of producing the same, within the scope of the claims, without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A refrigerant plate comprising two spaced plate elements, means securing together the peripheral edges of said plate elements, a refrigerant circulation pipe disposed within the space between said plate elements, said pipe being return bent so that the longitudinal portions thereof are in substantially spaced apart parallelism, a plurality of substantially dish-shaped depressions in one of said plate elements between the longitudinal portions of said pipe extending toward the other plate element, the depth of each said depression being less than the outside diameter of said pipe, and the extremity of each said depression being spot welded to said other plate element, whereby said plate elements are drawn together to clamp said pipe therebetween.

2. A refrigerant plate comprising two spaced plate elements, one of said plate elements being provided with a flange around the periphery 4 thereof extending toward the other plate element and having a second flange extending outwardly therefrom, a return bent portion around the periphery of the other plate element providing a space to receive the outwardly extending flange of said one plate element, means for securing the outwardly extending flange of the one plate element to the return bent portion of the other plate element, a refrigerant circulation pipe disposed within the space between said plate elements, said pipe being return bent so that the longitudinal portions thereof are in substantially spaced apart parallelism, a plurality of substantially dish-shaped depressions in one of said plate elements between the longitudinal portions of said pipe extending toward the other plate element. the depth of each said depression being less than the outside diameter of said pipe, and the extremity of each said depression being spot welded to said other plate element, whereby said plate elements are drawn together to clamp said pipe therebetween.

3. A refrigerant plate comprising two spaced plate elements, means securing together the peripheral edges of said plate elements, a refrigerant circulation pipe disposed within the space between said plate elements, said pipe being return bent so that the longitudinal portions thereof are in substantially spaced apart parallelism, a plurality of substantially dish-shaped depressions in one of said plate elements between the longitudinal portions of said pipe extending toward the other plate element, the depth of each said depression being less than the outside diameter of said pipe, and the diameter of each said depression being greater than the distance between the inner sides of the parallel portions of said pipe, and the extremity of each said depression being spot welded to said other plate element, whereby said plate elements are drawn together to clamp said pipe therebetween.

HARRY A. GOLDBERG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Crider Apr. 12, 1949 

